Dominic Sibley showed assurance at the crease when tackling the spinners. Joe Root was at his confident best in conditions that suited the hosts. Together, they stitched a partnership worth 77 with Dominic Sibley scoring a well-deserved half century. Joe Root tackled R Ashwin brilliantly as England reached the tea session on 140/2 on day 1 of the first Test between India and England at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. The exhibition by Root and Sibley was flawless and England ensured that they did not lose a single wicket in the entire second session after Rory Burns had gifted his wicket away and Dan Lawrence was undone by a brilliant ball from Jasprit Bumrah.
At the start of the second session, Ravichandran Ashwin was involved in a superb battle with Joe Root and the England skipper was beaten a couple of times. Root tried to be aggressive and sometimes he got the leading edge which landed safely in front of the fielders. With the passage of time, Root hung in and once he got his eye in, the England skipper showed why he averaged in excess of 50 in the sub-continent. On the other hand, Dominic Sibley showed tremendous assurance that had helped him overcome his lean trot with a fifty in the final innings of the Galle Test and both capitalised.
No support for Ashwin
While Ashwin was creating pressure, Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar could not sustain the pressure which Ashwin had built over a good spell. The bowling was either slightly short or on the leg side and both could easily negotiate the bowling. Ishant Sharma tried to create chances and so did Jasprit Bumrah but both batsmen had already gotten their eye in and they ensured India did not have many chances.
Root used the sweep and he placed the ball perfectly in the gaps. In a sign that he was growing in confidence, Joe Root hit two fours off Ashwin before tea, one a pull shot to deep square leg and the other a backfoot punch to deep extra cover. With England not losing any wicket before tea, Joe Root will be hoping to drag England to a good score in the final session and ensure they have plenty of wickets in hand.
